Volta/Appearance
London Volta Design 84.jpg|Original 1984 Design Volta, as part of Electra's entourage, started as an ice-cold dominatrix. Her original design, and early photo-shoots, show her with a prop whip made from electrical cables. She wears silver and polished black, with only touches of Electric blue in accents. Throughout the years of the london production, the costume construction varied considerably. Each new cast saw a new take on the design. Early years drew on the horizontal bands from the design, but later focused instead on a strong triangular V shape bodice. The concept of chaps varied from literal over-garments hanging low from her belt, to the suggestion of a layer over the base leotard, to "fins" incorporated directly into her leggings. Her shoulders went from an asymmetric protective collar, to a boxy design more in line with the coaches, but without the window details. The costume frequently used unusual and interesting fabrics and textures, unique to that year's build. Volta Lyndi Oliver Studio.jpg|Lyndi Oliver, 1992 Volta Marissa Dunlop.jpg|Marissa Dunlop, 1995 Volta Danielle Harley L98 13.png|Danielle Harley, 1998 Volta Louise Jones Jo 09.jpg|Louise Jones, 2001 Broadway / Bochum / Tours For the Broadway production, Volta's design was given a relatively minor update, but with the advance in technology and budget, the costume built became much closer to the original design. Rather than a white/grey body, she was given silver foil print on a black base, giving a convincing metallic appearance onstage. Her shoulders became a wide, shallow box connected to the chest, allowing the design details to be accurately reproduced. Both her arms in long gloves, and her legs covered in chaps, are held up to a point - her gloves fasten below her shoulder, and the chaps attach to her belt. The chaps hold an exaggerated triangular shape, and are constructed of a vinyl material that doesn't suggest clothing fabric, but entirely a mechanical function. Her lower legs are covered in the ribbed "Spring" style that is common across many characters, representing the suspension system of the truck. Volta Design 86.jpg|Revised 1986 Broadway design Volta Design 3.jpg|Revised Broadway Head-wear design Ashley Volta Backstage Broadway.jpg|Broadway backstage, 1987 B10 - Children (3).jpg|Bochum promo, 2010 Volta 2 Hong Kong Asia 2013.jpg|Asua Tour promo, 2013 Wigs Volta Joule aus 18.jpg|Amanda Abbs, 1987 Volta Leesa Osborn b88.jpg|Leesa Osborn, 1988 Volta b96 Christine Walsh.jpg|Christine Walsh, 1996 Volta Head Open Day 2008 01.JPG|Wig on display, 2008 Volta's wig has always played on the concept of a "fan", a cooling fan for the freezer truck. She wears a smart pillbox hat, which suggests a uniform, and has bangs softening the otherwise severe look of having her hair pulled up and back. Her wig has always followed the colour scheme of black, blue and white, however the exact styling and details have varied enormously. She has had fans that resemble blades, through to beyond half circle fans; hard geometric shapes with blocks of colour to softer, more organic gradients suggesting frost forming on the tips. The fans have ranged from practical, almost under-stated size through to ceiling-skimming heights rivalling Electra's largest mohawks. In Bochum the style varied considerably throughout the 1990s, but from 2002 onwards, with Dawn Leigh Woods playing the role for so long, a style was settled on with only minor changes as each individual wig was re-styled. The wig consists of four elements: the black/navy base wig, which is long and straight; the white/frosted bangs which are a separate element clipped in place; the pillbox hat; and the fans, which are separate pieces attached to the base, and the base hair is then wrapped around the bottom of the fans resembling a chignon. The Bochum production has used liberal amounts of glitter over the years, however other productions have completely encrusted the wig in glitter, in what seems to be a structural use of the material. The US / UK Tours did not use a separate white bangs clip, but styled the dark blue or black base wig into a curl on her forehead. Make Up Volta J87 Amanda Abbs.jpg|Amanda Abbs, 1987 Volta Leesa Osborn b94 22.jpg|Leesa Osborn, 1994 Volta 2008 Gala 11.jpeg|Dawn Leigh Woods, 2008 Volta 3 Hong Kong Asia 2013.jpg|Asia Tour, 2013 Volta's makeup varies between productions, with the key features being a strong, elegantly feminine look, and heavy use of the key colours of black, blue and white. She wears either a white or pale natural skintone, strong arched eyebrows, blue accents under her cheekbones, and either strong red, or blue shaded lips. The red lips appeared frequently in the late 1980s and 1990s, but the blue lips were part of the original design and have become the standard in the 2000s. Volta also frequently has featured extravagantly long lashes, emphasising her elegant, feminine look. Both her original 1984 design, and the updated 1986 version, intended her to wear a visor, obscuring her eyes. This has never been seen onstage, presumably due to the practicalities of restricting the performer's vision. 2018 Updates The 2018 Updates saw Volta change gender to male. Male Volta has almost the same costume, but with a silver body and silver codpiece. He wears his belt very low on his hips. He now has short black hair with a fringe that hangs over his face, and the illusion of a pattern shaved into his undercut. This short "wig" is a skull cap held in place with a chin strap, rather than a true hair wig. He no longer wears white makeup, but a natural foundation with emphasised features. Volta Dennis Spee b18.jpg Espresso Volta Race 2 b19.jpg Category:Design